Existing mechanisms for positioning logs in connection with a log splitter suffer notable deficiencies, including specifically expensive and complex hydraulic drive apparatuses and limited ability to haul logs toward the splitter from a distance or to apply force to move a log laterally. Many existing apparatuses are, similarly, disconnected from log splitters, requiring the user to haul both a log splitter and a positioning or hauling apparatus separately into the field.
Known apparatuses pose a number of challenges to users. Hydraulic drive systems for positioning logs are costly to purchase and costly and time-consuming to maintain. Such systems are also generally limited to performing one independent function at a time. Further, systems for positioning logs known to the art are generally unable to exert any significant lateral force. The inability of existing apparatuses to exert significant lateral force makes such apparatuses incapable of bringing, or at least poorly adapted to bring logs distant from a log splitter to the splitter. This limitation diminishes the utility of existing apparatuses significantly, since they can only be used to aid in positioning the logs in the splitter after the logs have been manually carried to the splitter from a distance location. Existing apparatuses are also not adapted to be integrated directly with the log splitter, making transport of the positioning apparatus into the field more difficult and cumbersome than necessary.
There is a need for a low maintenance, reliable, economic log retrieval and lift apparatus that overcomes these deficiencies.